YEREVAN PRESS CLUB WEEKLY NEWSLETTER
SEPTEMBER 20-26, 2013
HIGHLIGHTS:
CSF ARMENIAN NATIONAL PLATFORM IS IN RUN-UP TO FORUM IN CHISINAU
MEDIA INITIATIVES CENTER ESTABLISHED FIRST MEDIA MUSEUM IN ARMENIA
RADIO “HAY” GOES ON STRIKE IN PROTEST TO UNSCHEDULED TAX AUDIT
PRESS CAMPAIGN IN SUPPORT OF TIGRAN ARAKELIAN
CSF ARMENIAN NATIONAL PLATFORM IS IN RUN-UP TO FORUM IN CHISINAU
On September 20-22, at “Arthur’s Aghveran Resort”, Yerevan Press Club held
the seminar “Tasks of the Eastern Partnership CSF Armenian National Platform
in the Run-Up to the Forum’s Meeting in Chisinau”. The event was organized
with the support of Friedrich Ebert Foundation and attended by the
ANP-member organizations, which were selected as official Armenian delegates
to the Fifth Meeting of the EaP Civil Society Forum
in Chisinau on October 4-5, 2013.
The seminar started with a brainstorming (moderated by Gevorg
Ter-Gabrielian, Country Director of Eurasia Partnership Foundation) on the
possible frameworks of EU-Armenia future cooperation, given the RA President
Serzh Sargsian’s announcement about Armenia’s intention to join the Customs
Union. YPC President Boris Navasardian, Co-President of the EaP CSF Steering
Committee and Armenian National Platform’s Facilitator, talked about the
priorities and aims of the Forum’s Meeting in Chisinau. YPC Expert Arevhat
Grigorian presented different studies, administered by CSOs within the
framework of Eastern Partnership. Stepan Grigorian, Chairman of Analytical
Center for Globalization and Regional Cooperation, told about the activities
of the CSF Armenian National Platform carried out over the year. Tsovinar
Nazarian, member of the “Army in Reality” civic initiative, spoke about the
informal civic activism movements in Armenia. The seminar ended with a
discussion on the Armenian National Platform’s tasks at the EaP Civil
Society Forum’s Meeting in Chisinau.
MEDIA INITIATIVES CENTER ESTABLISHED FIRST MEDIA MUSEUM IN ARMENIA
On September 24, in Yerevan, the Media Initiatives Center (formerly,
Internews-Armenia) held the presentation of Lratun media museum. The first
media museum in Armenia is established by the Media Initiatives Center
within the framework of the
“Alternative Resources in Media” program, supported by the USAID.
The museum’s multimedia concept presents the history of the coverage of
significant events in Armenia over the last 25 years through the use of IT
technologies. The idea to found a media museum came from Newseum
, an interactive museum of news and journalism in
Washington, D.C., which displays how the media describe events of public
significance. Lratun’s establishment was initiated by Nouneh Sargsian,
Managing Director of the Media Initiatives Center, who told the journalists
that such museums are, at first, an opportunity to gather in one place the
different types of media connected to important events, and second, this is
a form of media literacy for the public at large understands what topics and
why the media choose, how they depict them and what they leave to history.
The first exhibit of the newly-created media museum – “An Earthquake that
Shook the Media” – displays how the press, television and documentarians of
the time covered the 1988 devastating Spitak earthquake. According to Vahram
Martirosian, Coordinator of Lratun project, they have chosen the Spitak
earthquake as the first theme for
two reasons: first, the earthquake opened up the Soviet Union to the world
(humanitarian assistance to the victims of the disaster was provided by many
countries, Ed. Note) and changed the media sector, the approach to news
outlets and to journalism; second, this year is the 25th anniversary of the
tragic event.
The travelling exhibition, “An Earthquake that Shook the Media”, will
display in Gyumri on September 26 till October 2, later it will be in
Vanadzor, October 5-15, in Martuni, October 15-19, and in Kapan, October
22-27.
Afterwards, the organizers of the country’s first media museum hope to find
a place in Yerevan where it can operate permanently.
RADIO “HAY” GOES ON STRIKE IN PROTEST TO UNSCHEDULED TAX AUDIT
On September 25, Radio
“HAY” announced that it goes on strike. The reason of the protest is the
order of the RA State Revenue Committee about holding an unscheduled tax
audit in broadcasting companies. According to the September 23, 2013 order
of the State Revenue Committee’s Head, Radio “HAY” and other radio companies
shall be subject to tax assessment to value the “production, mining and sale
of minerals, turnover and volume of provided services, shortage of goods,
factual, including average prices (tariffs) of sales”, notes Radio “HAY” in
its statement. It further says that since the order specifies neither the
scope of audit, which should be related to the radio station’s activities,
nor the methods of assessment, the management of Radio “HAY” has banned the
conducting of the audit. The radio station’s staff considers the actions of
the State Revenue Committee illegal and regards them as an attempt to
interfere in the activities of independent media, aimed at restricting
freedom of speech in Armenia, mentions the statement.
The statement also informs that the strike will last up until October 4. The
daily broadcast of Radio “Hay” will be interrupted for an hour, from 12.00,
and during the rest of time the radio station will operate on an automatic
programming mode.
PRESS CAMPAIGN IN SUPPORT OF TIGRAN ARAKELIAN
Starting from October 21, the daily newspapers “Aravot”, “Hraparak”,
“Zhamanak”, “Zhoghovurd”, “Chorrord Ishkhanutiun”, “Haykakan Zhamanak”, as
well as “168 Hours”, issued three times a week, are posting on their first
or second pages a slogan – “We recognize Tigran Arakelian a political
prisoner and demand his immediate release”. According to Aravot.am
, the campaign is carried out in
agreement with the Armenian National Congress party. Tigran Arakelian is an
activist representing the party.
It should be noted that Tigran Arakelian was arrested in connection to the
incident with police that happened in Yerevan on August 9, 2011 and was
charged with using violence against authorities. On July 20, 2012 the Court
of General Jurisdiction of Kentron and Nork-Marash Administrative Districts
of Yerevan sentenced him to six years in prison. The defendant appealed to
the RA Criminal Court of Appeals, which dismissed the complaint. The RA
Court of Cassation partially granted the complaint and returned the case to
the Court of Appeals for new consideration. The trial at the Criminal Court
of Appeals started on August 5, 2013 and is still ongoing. During all this
time, Tigran Arakelian is in custody; the court rejects the repeated motions
of his lawyer to change the preventive measure.
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Editor of YPC Newsletter – Elina POGHOSBEKIAN
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Yerevan Press Club
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0002, Yerevan, Armenia
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From: A. Papazian